The invention of Semtex

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 22 February 2023

⏱️ 9 minutes

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Summary

In 1958, Stanislav Brebera invented Semtex. It was a malleable, odourless and stable plastic explosive which became the choice weapon for those seeking to spread terror. In 2018, Maria Jestafjeva spoke to Mirisov Brebera, the brother of the chemist who created it. (Photo: Semtex. Credit: Getty Images)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Thank you for downloading the witness history podcast from the BBC World Service.
0:10.2	Today we're taking you back to 1958, when the most notorious plastic explosive in the
0:15.1	world, Semtex, was invented in Czechoslovakia.
0:19.3	In 2018, Maria Jastafjivá spoke to Miris Lafrabera, whose brother, Stanyus Lafrabera,
0:26.1	invented the explosive.
0:31.0	The killer explosive.
0:33.8	The IRA said it had used 200 pounds of Semtex.
0:37.2	Four packages of the explosive Semtex have been found abandoned in the London reservoir.
0:43.2	Several hundred people are now feared dead tonight after a Pan American Airlines jumbo jet crashed
0:48.8	near the town of Lokoby in Dumfries.
0:51.2	For decades, Semtex was the explosive of choice for people wanting to launch undercover
0:56.4	bomb attacks.
0:57.4	It was high strength, impossible to detect using X-rays or sniffer dogs, yet stable enough
1:03.0	to handle.
1:04.0	It was developed by two Czech chemists, Radjim Fugatko and Stanyus Lafrabera, in a small
1:10.4	town, Semtean, which gave its name to the product.
1:14.4	Miris Lafrabera remembers how proud his brother was of his invention.
1:20.4	He was overjoyed.
1:23.4	He told me that he could casually carry Semtex in his pocket and that it wouldn't explode
1:29.7	by itself without a detonator.
1:32.9	He also said that you could attach 100 grams of the explosive to a car and then easily blow
1:39.2	it up from a distance, which was later on misused.
	...

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